Students in Megan Ourada’s ecological science class and Ryan Hansen’s alternative education class had the opportunity to work with Woodland Dunes in the Restore the Shore Project.

This field trip provided students with strategies to be wise stewards of our environment. It also offered knowledge of the interrelationship between living things and their nonliving surroundings and the impact on our ecosystems.

Restore the Shore is a collaborative project hosted by Woodland Dunes Nature Center. Restore the Shore project works in collaboration with Lakeshore Invasive Species Management Area and Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership.

In addition to these two organizations, many partners are engaged in this project, which involves invasive species removal and native species plantings to benefit migratory birds along the lakeshore.

Our partnership with Woodland Dunes provides many opportunities for our students. In this event, students had a hands-on opportunity removing invasive species and planting native species while learning the importance of supporting a healthy balance in our ecosystem.

This project provided instruction by two Woodland Dunes staff members. Jessica Johnsrud and Wendy Lutze provided information and examples of the impact invasive species have to local ecosystems. Our students participated in a simulation activity to discover that invasive species move into natural areas and they can completely take over and “choke out” the ecosystem.

The students spent the activity involved in removing the invasive shrub honeysuckle from Woodland Dunes' property. This was done with multiple community volunteers in addition to the Woodland Dunes' staff.

The interaction with the volunteers and our students created informative and reflective conversations about what they were doing. Together, they planted wildflowers near the main entrance of the property as well as in the Butterfly Garden. The day of planting was beneficial, as our native flowers are integral to Restore the Shore in bringing desirable pollinators to our habitat in Two Rivers.

This is a positive partnership with our schools, our community and our students.

Lisa Quistorf(Photo: Courtesy of Two Rivers Public School District)

Lisa Quistorf is district administrator for Two Rivers Public School District and may be contacted at lisa.quistorf@trschools.k12.wi.us or 920-793-4560.